Centrifugal machine



Feb. 25, 1941. w U D G 2,232,770

CENTRIFUGAL MACHINE Filed July 23, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORATTORNEYS Feb. 25, 1941. w. BUDDEBERG CENTRIFUGAL MACHINE Filed July 23,1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORN EYS Patented Feb. 25, 1941 g UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE,"

2.232.770 I osnrarrucsr. mscnma Walter Buddeberg, Bavensb'urg, Germany,as-

signor to Albert T. Otto & Sons, Inc., New York,

N. Y., a corporation of New York 1 Application July as, less. Serial No.220.987 In Germany February 25, 1938 V 8 Claims.

liquid content. For substances which are not readily filtrable and thestructure of which must not be damaged, such for example, as cellulose,staple fibre, or sandy material, a peeleror scraper is not suitable forremoving the solids. far as I am aware, no suitable automaticallyoperating centrifugal machine has heretofore been made available to theindustry and adapted for large outputs.

The present invention involves a new type of centrifugal machinedesigned for large outputs and in which disadvantages resulting from theuse of prior types of machines are avoided. The present inventioninvolves a simple and inexpensive construction, particularly fortreating materials, the structure of which must not be destroyed duringdischarge and which cannot be easily removed by a peeler or scrapermember.

In carrying out my invention I employ a horizontally disposedcentrifugal drum which is mounted in suitable bearings solely at one endof the drum, and provided with an axially movable back plate, piston, orend wall, the operating or pressure cylinder for which is spaced fromthe centrifugal drum by one of the main bearings of the machine. Themain mass of the rotating parts is so disposed that the center ofgravity of the machine when the drum is filled, as well as when thedischarge plate is in discharge position, is disposed as nearly aspossible to the main bearing of the machine. Due to the fact that thepower cylinder for the backplate is disposed outside of the centrifugingspace and separated from the centrifugal drum, there is little or noliability of the motive fluid such as pressure oil used in the powercylinder from coming in contact with the batch being treated. By meansof my novel construction, complicated and expensive packings areavoided. Due to the disposition of the parts, one may easily gain accessto all partsof the drum. By disposing the 'drum and the power cylinderuponopposite sides of the main bearing, there is obtained a more tionthrough an apparatus embodying my invenuniform loading. The cylinderacts to a certain extent as a counterweight to the drum whereby balancedand quiet running is attained. I

As one feature of the invention. one of the main bearings of the machineserves as the means 5 for admitting the pressure fluid to opposite sidesof the piston in the power cylinder. as another feature, the powercylinder is constructed to serve as a brake drum for the machine. As afurther feature, the ejector piston or back wall 10 of the drum isprovided with a ring or annular end wall which serves as a cover sectionto partially close the opposite end of the drum during centrifugi andwhich is moved axially away from the drum to permit discharge of the 15material during axial movement of the end wall or piston.

As a further feature this annular ring or end wall is conical so as tosubstantially increase the volume oi the material which may be held in20 the drum without excessively increasing the length of the drum.

Other important features involve the construction and arrangement of thepacking for the piston operating rod, the arrangement of perfora- 5tions permitting discharge of material which may enter the space in therear of the piston or discharging end wall, the arrangement of meanswhereby rinsing liquid may be circulated through the space in the rearof the. discharging wall, 30 the'arrangement of a labyrinth packing forseparating the liquid and solid receiving chambers,

and various other features and novel parts which will be apparent froman inspection of the accompanying drawings or will be hereinafter de- 35scribed and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a central, vertical, longitudinal section;

Figure 2 is a similar section showing certain parts of different formand certain parts in side elevation; and

Figures 3 and 4 are longitudinal sections through other types of ejectormembers which may be employed. v

\ In the construction illustrated in Figure 1, there is provided a drumor basket having a. peripheral wall III which is perforated, porous, orotherwise formed to permit the passage of the separated liquidtherethrough. The drum has an end wall Ii for carrying theperipheral.wall .andmounted on and secured to a hollow shaft i2 mountedin the mainhearing it. The end wall II is preferably somewhat conical so'55 thatthe peripheral wall is brought as close as conveniently possible to themain hearing it.

On the opposite side of the bearing is the hollow shaft II is connectedto or made integral with a power cylinder ll coaxial with the drum andhaving its opposite end wall or head ll provided with a shaft extensionll mounted in a suitable bearing II.

Within the power cylinder I4 is a piston ll mounted on a piston rod IIwhich extends through the hollow shaft i! into the drum and also extendsinto the hollow shaft II. The hollow shaft II has two annular chambersII and I! on opposite sides of a bearing portion II and provided withopenings communicating with annular grooves 28 and 24 respectively inthe bearing II. The end of the piston rod II has a central passage flcommunicating with ports at the opposite side of the piston II and thechamber It opens in the end of the cylinder so that when pressure fluidis delivered through a passage II, it may flow to one side of the pistonand when delivered through a separate passage 21, it may flow to theopposite side of the piston. Any suitable means may be provided forcontrolling the flow of pressure fluid to and from the cylinder to causethe continuous or intermittent reciprocation of the piston, and suchmeans may be interconnected to the valve or other means controlling theinflow of material to be treated so that the supply will be shut offduring dieohartinl oper tion.

The piston rod I! at the end thereof extending into the centrifugingdrum is connected to an end wall 28 which serves as a piston or anejecting means for solid material in the drum. This may be conical andsubstantially conform in shape to the end wall I l.

The periphery of the end wall 28 engages with and is guided by theperipheral wall I. of the drum but no rigid bearing is provided for thepiston rod it between the power piston II and the ejecting piston or endwall I]. The passage through the hollow shaft i2 is somewhat larger thanthe exterior of the rod I! so that the rod is not guided thereby andresilient packings I! and it are provided at the ends of the annularspace between the hollow shaft i2 and the piston is so as to preventflow ofpressure fluid through the hollow shaft but they do not rigidlysupport the piston rod.

The drum is provided with an annular ring end plate or cover section llspaced from the end wall 28 to a distance substantially equal to thelength of the peripheral wall ill and connected to said end wall by aplurality of ribs II. The ring 3| has an outside diameter slightlylarger than the drum l0 so that when the end wall 28 is moved inwardlyto closed position to permit fllling of the drum, the ring or end wall3| will flrmly contact a gasket or packing a on the end of the drum.

The drum is inclosed by a casing having one section which encircles thedrum and serves to receive liquid passing through the peripheral wall ofthe latter. which liquid may drain from the casing through an outlet 36.The casing has a second chamber or compartment 31 beyond the end of thedrum and into which the solid material is pushed by the endwise movementof the plate 28 so that the solid material may be delivered to aseparate outlet 3|. The two chambers of the casing may be separated by awall or partition which preferably has a labyrinth packing 39 betweenits inner edge and the pelivered throne riphery of the drum at the freeend of the latter so that the drum does not actually contact the casingbut movement of liq id from the chamber II into the chamber TI iseflectively prevented.

The ring ii is preferably-conical. that is, itsinnerfrseedgeisextendedawayfromtheend wall ll.andthepistonrodllpreferablycarries anannulardiscllspacedfromthemovableend wall II. Thematerial to the end wall of the between the outer inner edge of the ring0 The disc ll serves as a terial falling between the axially-movable endwall and the.disc or splash plate 4. will be preventedfrom splashing outupon impact with the rotath'l flrtl;

The drum may be driven in any suitable manner, for instance, by a sourceof power connected tothe end llofthe shaft II, or byabelt or gearengaging the p riphery of the power cylinder ll. Preferably the powercylinder serves as a brake drum and is provided with a brake band 43which may be tightened to stop the rotation of the drum when desired.

The peripheral wall ll of the drum is provided with a series of openings4| which are close to the end wall If and through which any liquidflowing into the intermediate space between the walls II and fl mayescape into the chamber II. Such liquid may be that which flnds its waybetween the periphery of the piston wall fl and the peripheral wall I.or may be power liquid which flnds its way past the peckings II and SI.

Means are provided for rinsing out this intermediate space and washingout any solid material which may in the course of time accumulatetherein, either by crystallization from the liquid or in any othermanner. The end wall Ii is shown as provided with an inwardly directedflange 40 on the outer side and forming an annular inwardly facingchannel 41 which communicates with the intermediate space between thewalls 28 and II through a series of ports 48. Liquid may be deliveredinto the annular channel in any suitable manner as, for instance,through a nozzle 4!. Thus, when it is desired to wash out theintermediate space, llquid may be delivered through the nozzle ll intothe channel 41 where it will be retained by centrifugal force anddischarged radially through the ports ll into the intermediate space.When thermachine is at rest any liquid in said intermediate space willdrain out through the port ll which happens to come at the lower side ofthe drum.

Athough it is desirable that the drum be supported solely at one end itmay be desirable in some cases to support the piston rod I! at a pointbeyond the drum and independently thereof. In Figure 2 I have shown thepiston rod ll extended through the chamber 31 and supported in a bearingII. In this case the disc a corresponding to the disc 40 of Figure 1 ismade conical and deflected away from the end wall It so as to increasethe capacity of the chamber and provide a conical funnel from the intakepipe ll. In addition to its function as a funnel or conical deflector.it serves as does the disc II to prevent outflow of any liquid deliveredby the intake pipe II and before the liquid has been acted upon andseparated by the action of centrifugal force. I have shown the pipe Ienteringabove the disc ll in Figure l and below the disc I inFigure 2.The position of this intake pipe is relatively unimportant.

In Figures 3 and 4, two alternative forms of the axially movable partswithin the'drum are shown. In Figure 3, the end wall He is shown asprovided with a series of ports II spaced inwardly from the outer edge.These are desirable in the treatment of certain classes of materialswhere the solids form a rather dense mass through which the liquid canpercolate but slowly under the action of centrifugal force. The solidswill accumulate at the periphery of the body of rotating material andthe liquid nearest to the axis of rotation may be comparatively free ofsolids. This liquid cleared from solids by the radial settling due toaction of centrifugal force may in part escape or overflow through theports Ill. Thus, the material may be delivered through the inlet pipe IIat a higher rate than the liquid portion can escape through the solidmaterial accumulating against the drum wall and excess cleared liquidmay escape while the added solid material accumulates on the bed of thesolid material already in the drum; In this construction, the annularring or end wall Sin is shown as having its inner edge coming muchcloser to the axis of rotation and the disc shown in Figure 1 may beomitted. This end wall Ila serves as a conical distributor in the mannerdescribed and claimed in my copending application, Serial No. 205,894,filed May 4, 1938. Certain of the features herein disclosed in regard tothe actuating mechanism of the piston are claimed in my copendingappllcation. Serial No. 209,009, filed May 20, 1938.

In the construction shown in Figure 4, the axial movable end wall I lbmay be providedwith a series of perforations 5| adJacent to the outeredge and of substantially the same character as the perforations in theperipheral wall of the drum itself so that the flltering or separationmay be done in part in the end wall and in part in the peripheral wallof the drum. In this construction I have shown an annular ring or endwall 3i substantially the same as in Figure 1 but have provided saidwall with a conical entrance funnel or deflector 52 connected to the endwall Si by brackets or spacers 54. Thus, when the material is deliveredthrough the pipe I close to the inner edgeof the cone 52 it will fallonly a short distance onto the inner end of the funnel and then travelradially outwardly and toward the end wall I lb without such severeimpact as might break solid crystals or other solid bodiescarried 'inthe liquid to be treated. So far as this part is concerned the resultwill be substantially the same as is accomplished by making the end wallII extend inwardlv merely to the intake pipe as shown in Figure 3, butin Figure 4 the material is delivered to the rotating mass midwaybetween the ends of the latter.

Having thus de cribed my invention, what I claim as new an desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

l. A centrifugal machine having a main bearing, a horizontally disposedhollow shaft supported thereby and projecting in opposite directionstherefrom, a power cylinder coaxial with and connected to said shaft atone end and having its body portion serving as a brake drum. acentrifugal drum connected to said shaft at the opposite'end, a rodextending axially through said shaft, a piston within said cylinder andconnected to said rod, an end wall within said centrifugal drum andconnected to said rod, means forvdelivering motive fluid to saidcylinder at either side of said piston to move said endwall axiallywithin said centrifugal drum and a brake drum encircling said cylinder,whereby the cylinder acts as apart of the means for rotating the drum,acts as a part of the means for controlling the speed of the drum, andacts as a part of the means for effecting axial movement of said endwall.

2. A centrifugal machine. including a. separating drum mounted forrotation about a horizontal axis having an end wall-and a perforatedperipheral wall, a piston within said drum for pushing solid materialaxially, said end wall having an annular channel on its outer surfaceand facing inward radially, passages connecting said channel and thespace between said piston and said end wall, and means for deliveringliquid to said channel. a

3. A centrifugal machine including a drum mounted for rotation about ahorizontal axis having an end wall and a perforated p r pheral wall, anda piston within said drum axially movable to discharge material from theend ofthe drum, said piston having an annular portion ad- Jacent to theperiphery provided with liquid discharge perforations, exposed duringcentrifugingaction to an annular layer of separatedliquid disposed onthe inner periphery of the separated layer of solids, and extendingsubstantially the full effective centrifuging length of the drum,whereby said liquid will overflow through said perforations duringcentrifuging.

v4. A centrifugal machine including a separating drum mounted forrotation about a horizontal axis having an end wall and a perforatedperipheral wall, a piston axially movable within said drum, and anannular closure for one end of said drum and rigidly connected to saidpiston, said piston having overflow openings therethrough to the spacebetween the piston and said endwall and spaced from the periphery of thepiston to a distance less than the radial width of said annular closure.

5. A centrifugal machine including a separating drum mounted forrotation about a horizontal axis having a perforated peripheral wall andan end wall, a piston axiallymovable within said drum, and having acentral portion extending across the axis of said drum, a splash platesecured to and axially spaced from said of said drum, and means'fordelivering material to the druni between the piston and the splashplate.

6. A centrifugal machine including a separating drum mounted forrotation about a horizontal axis having a perforated peripheral wall andan end wall, a piston axially movable within said drum, and having acentral portion extending across the axis of said drum, a splash platesecured to and axially spaced from said piston, and extending across theaxial portion of said drum, and means for delivering material to thedrum' between the piston and the splash plate, said piston having anaxial annular portion'flared in one direction and said splash platebeing flared in the opposite direction from the axis of rotation of thedrum.

7..A centrifugal machine including a separating drum mounted for'rotation about a horizontal axis having an end wall and a perforatedperipheral wall,'a piston mounted for axial movement within said drumfor discharging the cenpiston, and'extending across the axial portion(rem drum in: diecherglnz the centrifuged end 1mm leld drum. on ennulerend wall a end of all! drum oppoelte said first end e 0! alllpeeedtromeeldpleton. means rigto eeld ennuler end well and said 5smaller oteeidtunnele-ndbemnendmeenleerrledhymd ennular end tween aidtunnel end laid piston. well for directing inoomin: materiel toward the8. A eentrlmal machine including a drum periphery ot the drum andapproximately midmounted for rotetlon about e horizontal axis :31between said piston and eeid annular end WALTER BUDDEBERG.

m 23in: en end well and e perforated peripheral a piston mounted foraxial movement with-

